Sun, Moon, Star
by FreakofImagination
Summary: It’s easy to have a friend when you’re a little kid and you don’t care about anything else, and those cheesy “Best Friends Forever” necklaces actually mean something.
1. Naruto

Sun, Moon, Star 

**Written by Freakofimagination on a whim**

"Alright then, let's see who's next…oi, Uzumaki, you're up!"

"…"

"Naruto?"

"…"

"Naruto."

"…"

"…"

**Whack.**

"Ow! What the hell…! Kakashi-sensei, that hurt!"

**Sigh.**

"It wouldn't have if you hadn't been sleeping when I called you."

**Lazy glare.**

"Yeah yeah…so my turn to read?"

"_Yes_ Naruto, now get up there."

**Exasperation.**

"Okay I'm going! I'm going!"

"…"

"Hi, my name's Uzumaki Naruto, but you all know that already. My freeform story on the topic 'Childhood Memories: Friends' is called 'Ad Infinitum'."

"…To Infinity?"

**Sheepish grin.**

"Yeah…I sorta wanted a symbolic, cool sounding title."

**Smile.**

"Carry on then."

Naruto cleared his throat and began.

"It's easy to have a friend when you're a little kid and you don't care about anything else, and those cheesy "Best Friends Forever" necklaces actually mean _forever._"

Two figures in the room abruptly froze, and looked at the blonde in surprise. The blonde didn't notice and kept talking.

"Back when I was a kid, I had two of those, and necklaces for each of them. One for Sasuke and another for Sakura."

At the resounding gasps, Naruto felt himself involuntarily glare into the typed papers he was holding.

Was it really **that** hard for those idiots to believe that he had been friends with somebody other than the other outcasts of Konoha High?

He let loose a slow, steady breath through his teeth. Of course it was that hard. Uchiha Sasuke was known as the untouchable 'Sex-God Sasuke' to the more than three-quarters of the highschool population, males included. Haruno Sakura was a deadly combination of cleverness, an angel face, and a killer body that enraptured more guys than he could count in one sitting. And he, Uzumaki Naruto, was a guy with weird whisker-like scars on his cheeks, more detention slips in a month than most kids got in a year, and supposedly had only gotten this far in highschool because the principal and two of the teachers liked him.

Shaking himself lightly, he tried to ignored the strains of disbelieving whispers and ran a hand through his shaggy golden hair, waiting as the strands in front and back shifted until they again brushed along his cheekbone and shoulders respectively. It was almost a mullet, he groused, making a mental note to ask Gaara about helping him with it later. Although it was kinda nice having it long enough to braid when class got too boring and he was forbidden from doodling on himself or his papers…

A quiet voice broke through his inner stalling. "Naruto, please continue." Naruto shot a glance at Kakashi, and gave a quick grin of apology before complying.

"It had been a spur-of-the-moment idea from Sakura-chan as we were playing together on the monkey bars, Sasuke and I situated on top of the high, Big-Kid Bars, and Sakura-chan swinging below. We were all seven years old…

"_Hey, Naruto-kun! Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called up. I blinked and stared down at her in questioning, Sasuke letting himself fall backward so that he faced her upside as he hung from his knees. _

"_Yeah Sakura-chan?" _

"_What's up?" _

_Sakura didn't giggle like she usually did when we answered simultaneously. For some reason, her face was set in an unusual serious look._

"_We're best friends right?" I grinned and laughed at the obvious question; Sasuke snickered._

"_Of course Sakura-can!" I happily sang out. _

"_Until we die when we're old and weird!" Sasuke added in, but Sakura wasn't happy with our answers yet. _

"_So forever, right?" Me 'n' Sasuke traded a look. And nodded slowly to her, though Sasuke had a little trouble doing it upside down. Was something wrong with Sakura-chan…?_

_We answered together, firmly. "Forever!" _

_She nodded to herself, and swung slowly back and forth. "So if we're friends forever…" Sasuke and I gulped at the infamous line. **This **was the line that had preceded many of our…**trials**…towards swearing our friendship to eternity, some of them painful (like cutting our palms and sharing blood to be comrades-in-crime…none of our respective parents/guardians had been happy about that). "…we should get friendship bracelets!" _

_We both let out relieved, albeit confused breaths. That didn't sound painful!_

"_Ne…Sakura-chan," I questioned, swinging myself backward to mimic Sasuke, who had by then swung up to stop the blood rushing to his head. "What're friendship bracelets?" She rolled her eyes. _

"_Friendship bracelets are matching bracelets that show people're gonna be friends forever! Dummy!" _

_I pouted. Sakura-chan could be so mean! Sasuke frowned down at her. _

"But Sakura, why do we need bracelets?" He asked, me nodding with a "Yeah, yeah!" in agreement. "We already know we're gonna be friends forever." Sakura scowled.

"_But friendship bracelets are so we don't **forget**!" She argued, scrunching her large, but cute brow together. Sasuke and I copied the look._

"_We won't forget!"_

_Sasuke steadied himself with one hand as he thrust his palm out to her, "And besides, even if we **do** forget, we've got our pirate scars!" _

"_Yeah!" I showed the identical triangle-shaped scar on my own palm, "We'll never forget something that hurt so much!" _

_Finally, Sakura smiled, but still she refused to relent._

"_Friendship bracelets also show OTHER people you're gonna be friends 'till ya die," Sasuke and I stopped our protests. Now** there** was a reason! We grinned._

_I swung up, and shouted enthusiastically. "Okay!" _

"_Let's do it!" Sasuke crowed. Sakura smiled triumphantly and let go of the bars, landing with a soft _**thwump** _on the sand. At the invitation, we jumped down next to her. _

_Without warning, the both of us were abruptly enveloped in a clumsy, tight hug. I grinned gawkily and hugged back, savoring the human contact. Glancing at Sasuke, my masculine pride…or **whatever** it was back then…was pleased to see a very slight reddening on his cheeks as well as he encircled his arms around me 'n' Sakura._

_After a while, Sakura released us, beaming. "I knew you guys would do it," She said, clasping her hands together in front of her earnestly. _

"_So when do we get 'em?" Sasuke asked impatiently._

"_Yeah, when can we gettum?" I echoed, equally as eager. _

_Sakura giggled cheerfully at our now-enthusiastic selves. "We can get 'em tomorrow," She paused to let us finish our cheer before carrying on, "They're at a store near my house," _

_My grin faltered slightly. Going to a store required money…and I didn't have a lot of that…_ _Slowly the smile melted entirely off my face. _

_Sasuke noticed first, and was silent a moment before he responded.  
_

"_Naruto," I looked up at him sadly, inwardly wondering how I was going to tell Sakura-chan that I couldn't afford a Best Friends Forever bracelet. He paused again before leaning in and saying quietly, "You can have some of my money for the bracelet." My eyebrows shot to beneath my hairline and my jaw dropped. His gaze dropped, embarrassed. "My allowance is too big anyway…" He muttered, grazing a foot along the ground._

_Right then, I felt like I could just jump and hug him to death in happiness. So I did! …well not to death, but I still gave him a flying tackle of a hug. _

_Sputtering in surprise and unprepared for the embrace, he landed on the ground, me clutching tightly around his middle and chanting a mantra of thankyou's. _

_From somewhere to my right, I could hear Sakura giggling, and above my head, Sasuke yelling for me to get off, but all I could think of then was that I was the luckiest kid in the world…_

_The next day, the three of us were outside of the store, sitting on a bench and admiring our purchases._

"_Ne, Sakura-chan, I thought you said they had to be bracelets?" I queried, lifting the necklace out of the plastic bag and watching it glint as it spin in the afternoon light. _

"_Bracelets, necklaces…" She shrugged and fingered her own necklace, smiling. "As long as they mean we're best friends forever, they're all the same. Besides, these were cheaper than the bracelets."_

_Sasuke nodded, tucking the remainder of his money back into his pocket. "I think I like necklaces better anyway," He commented and tossed the bag into the trashcan beside him. "I'd probably lose a bracelet really soon."_

_I grinned in agreement with a, "Me too!" before turning back to the necklace in my hands. To my seven-year-old eyes, it was wonderful. The pendant was sun shaped, the rays like curving tendrils, and was a pretty, burnt orange. Best of all were the swirling words within the pendant…'Friends Till Death'. _

…_Okay so it wasn't **forever **specifically, but as close to forever as was humanly possible. _

_I glanced over at the necklaces Sasuke and Sakura held and smiled again as I saw the words repeated on the moon and star._

_Yep. I was definitely the luckiest kid in the world…Aside from maybe Sakura-chan and Sasuke._

"_Hey Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, how do I look?" I blinked and focused back on the real world. Sakura was standing in front of us, an expectant look on her face and the star necklace around her neck. I really liked hers. Stars just looked right on her, and the seven-pointed, silvery white one with our pledge carved on it looked plain perfect._

_I stood and hugged her happily, "It looks like it was made for you Sakura-chan!" Sasuke smiled, agreeing wholeheartedly. She giggled delightedly, and spun around. _

"_Now it's your guys' turn!" Sakura said when she stopped, extending a hand out for my necklace. Obediently, I dropped it into her waiting grasp, and turned to face Sasuke, who was still on the bench. I grinned to him. He grinned back. _

_A moon was perfect for him too. I could remember one of the times I had stayed over at his house, a sleepover for me, Sakura, and him, where we had slept outside on the balcony…_

_The moon had been full that night, just like the pendant on his necklace, "A witching night!", we had shrieked in our squeaky voices as we performed 'heathen deeds'. Really, we only smeared paint all over our faces like feral children and sacrificed the random bug that came our way to a funny little 'evil' shrine. Eventually, we grew tired of worshiping the shrine though, and decided to pick one of us to be a Witch God/Goddess. _

_Sasuke was nearly immediately chosen. Neither Sakura nor me would do as an evil ruler, what with my yellow hair ("Yellow's the color of **happiness** Naruto! Evil is NOT happy!"), and Sakura's decidedly pastel-colored head ("Ehh…sorry Sakura-chan, but pink is a different kinda evil."), we just didn't fit the part. But Sasuke was perfect. _

_After the sun was gone, me 'n' Sakura only looked like two regular little kids in the dark. He, however, looked **cool**. With the moonlight, his usually kinda pasty-pale skin seemed to **glow, **his black hair suddenly had a blue tint to it, and his eyes…somehow going **RED**, of all colors, were the very personification of a wicked, insane God of the Witches._

_And ever since then, the moon's reminded me of him. Well…sometimes the moon makes me think about rabbits, or werewolves, or even cheese at times of extreme late-night hunger…but almost always it's been Sasuke._

"_Aww Naruto-kun it looks so pretty!" A small part of me groaned at being used in the same sentence as 'pretty', but that small part was quickly overruled and pushed aside._

_Grinning bashfully, I thanked her, stealing a glance back at Sasuke._

_He was pouting at his apparent exclusion. "Sakura-chan, will you help me with mine?" He pleaded, standing and holding the necklace out to her. Cheerfully she accepted, clipping the ends of the chain holding the pale blue moon around the wide collar of his trademark shirt. _

_Sakura stepped back alongside me to see how it looked. She beamed. I smirked. _

"_We're so COOL!" I hollered, pumping my fist into the air and scaring off several roosting pigeons. Sakura unsuccessfully tried to hide a laugh under a cough and Sasuke just rolled his eyes. I rolled my eyes back at the two of them. "Yeah yeah…so friends till death?" _

_I opened my arms out wide, the universal Naruto invitation for a hug. Cheerfully, they accepted the invitation and repeated, "Friends till death!"_

_Sakura pulled back first, but then grabbed onto my right and Sasuke's left hand and tugged. "Now come on, we've gotta start walking or we'll never get to my house before it's dark!"_

"_Oh!"_

"_Oh no!"_

"_Yeah, so let's go! My mom bought donuts this time!"_

"_Donuts! Awesome! Last one there's a smelly kappa!" With that, I took off running towards Sakura's house, glancing behind me and smirking at the hollering duo behind me. _

_Till death by sugar overdose from chocolate-glazed donuts…_

…The End."

Naruto looked up from his paper to a silent room. Most of the class had on pensive expressions. A few were dozing. Fewer still had on a slight smile. He didn't look at the two his story had included. Didn't really want to know what they were thinking, be it anger, embarrassment, or any mixture of the two.

He gave an internal shrug. The assignment had been about a childhood memory with friends. In his childhood, they **had** been his friends, so really, there wasn't a choice except to write about something that the three of them had done together. The necklaces had just been one of the first recalled.

Sighing, he turned to Kakashi, handing him the slightly crumpled sheets of paper.

Kakashi smiled, or at least it looked like he did from beneath the odd turtleneck he wore. "That was surprising Naruto, I didn't know you could write so well." He praised contentedly.

Naruto shrugged, smiling brightly. "I write depending on the subject." He laced his fingers together and set them against the back of his head. "This was a nice subject to write about."

From beyond Naruto's vision, Sasuke winced at the casual tone. _A nice…**subject**…_He bowed his head, and glanced sideways to where, four seats to the left of him, Sakura sat. Her face was carefully blank as she stared down at something. He followed her gaze to her right hand, which was slowing tracing out a star on her immaculately clean desk.

He wondered if she still had the original of the trace.

Sasuke let out a silent sigh through his nose as he turned away from the pink-haired girl. Eventually, he found his gaze had wandered back to the still-standing Naruto….and to the slight glint of a chain peeking out from beneath his scruffy black shirt and long golden hair.

And all of a sudden, the cold, stoic Uchiha found himself wishing he was seven years old again.

**Authoress's Note**

Well…that was an absolute** pain **to end. Methinks it be mighty awkward sounding…

And…despite my best efforts…I focused on Sasuke more than his due I guess it's just my inherent _sasunaru _love bleeding through. BUT I'm going to try, as in VALIANTLY make an honest-to-gawd effort **not **to have this be a shounen-ai/yaoi fic…because I know it bugs the hell out of _me_ to have an ambiguous fic like this, and then from outta nowhere springs a pairing and the author/ess expects it to work and people to deal with it., THUS I shall attempt to keep this pairing-less. Unless viciously prompted to do otherwise cheesy grin

cough Sooooo anyways…don't really know if I wanna expand on this…because I do have a few ideas fluttering around the empty expanse that is my mind…BUT I kinda don't want to ruin what I've already got here…which is a nice, fluffy yet sad little drabble….now I'm sounding like Ixy damnit.

(For anyone who doesn't know…which is everyone…Ixy Short, redheaded girl whom is a friend o' mine obsessed with angst, depression, heartache, tragic pasts, and whatever else goes in that category. What's ironic is that she's one of the most cheerful and upbeat people I know…so go figure.)

Ah well. Please review! I would love it ever-so-much, and I'm desperately looking for some feedback. The one person who I normally bounce stuff off of refuses to have anything whatsoever to do with Naruto, despite my best efforts. pout Damn her.

…aw crap now my keyboard's blue…damnit. I've gotta stop drawing on myself…at least with the blue permanent marker.

Slight Explanation of Japanese Usage

**Ne: **Hey

**Sensei: **Teacher

**-chan: **A friendly suffix used mainly for girls, implying cuteness

**-kun: **A suffix used mainly for young or younger boys, implying politeness most of the time

Kappa A rather ugly Japanese water demon 

I decided to use these sparse Japanese terms because…well, there's really no good English equivalent to Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei, or Naruto-kun/Sasuke-kun, and plainly it just sounds weird to try and translate it. With ne….I really have no good reason for not translating it, as it **does** work and sounds moderately passable as good English…but I happen to like the sound of "Ne, ne!" more than "Hey, hey!". It sounds prettier.

And as for kappa…blows a raspberry I just wanted to show off my knowledge of mythological animals! Hah!


	2. Sasuke, Sakura

**Sun, Moon, and Star**

_Continued by FreakofImagination on a whim_

"What's wrong?"

Sasuke started at the quiet voice, spinning around so fast his eyes unfocused. At the sight of his brother standing several steps away, he calmed, glancing at the man questioningly.

"What do you mean?" He asked, slipping off his shoes.

Itachi leaned back against the wall. "You're twenty minutes later than usual," He stated, adding, almost as an afterthought, "You've been brooding."

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, averting his gaze. He turned back to facing the door and sat down to take off his socks.

Itachi didn't move and let his red gaze bore into the boy's back. "Sasuke."

Sasuke flinched, then sighed, his shoulders dropping slightly as he ran a hand through his long bangs.

He was silent for a while before he began, resignedly. "…A week ago, Kakashi assigned us a freeform essay with a choice of three introspective topics…"

At that, Sasuke paused.

"…And you didn't like the topic choices?" Itachi offered, when Sasuke stayed silent.

Sasuke instantly twisted to glower heatedly, "No, that's not it!"

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "Then carry on." He answered coolly.

"Then don't interrupt!"

Itachi resisted the urge to rub the bridge of his nose and remained quiet.

Little brothers could be so terribly exasperating.

He glanced down to the clenched fists, his eyes almost immediately darting back to the contorted, irritated face. But something was obviously bothering Sasuke. Normally, the boy was quite in control of his emotions.

He waited.

A moment passed, and Sasuke's hands unclenched. Bit by bit, the irate expression left, and then he sighed.

"Sorry," He muttered. Itachi shrugged imperceptibly.

"Continue."

"…the topics were on childhood memories; first love, a family vacation, or friends. I did mine on the trip we took to the historical Uchiha grounds."

Itachi raised one skeptical eyebrow. There had to be more. The trip was nostalgic, yes, and even more so since Mother and Father were dead now, but the memory was primarily a happy one.

"And Naruto…"

He blinked in surprise. Now _there_ was a name he hadn't heard spoken in a long while. Even longer from his brother's mouth.

"The blonde kid, right?" He queried, just to be sure. Sasuke nodded an affirmative.

Itachi folded his arms across his chest, his brow creasing ever so slightly. This was going to be a headache-inducer…

"What about him?"

"…Naruto did his on friends." The other finished stiffly, staring at a speck of dirt on the floor.

Itachi sighed, this time giving in to the impulse and kneading the bridge of his nose slowly. "It's not like the kid had a choice, Sasuke." He monotoned, watching for his brother's reaction. "He was with you two all the time, so, unless it was on Sakura, he had no need for any childish adorations. And it is highly unlikely he would ever write a paper about his…_guardian_ that would eventually have to be read aloud to the entire class."

Sasuke swallowed, his voice even fainter when he responded, "I know that. It just reminded me of…of us three."

An uncomfortable silence fell upon the two.

Itachi examined his brother contemplatively, wondering on the best way to solve this predicament because really, a moody teenager was a pain to deal with.

"Nothing is stopping you from spending time with Sakura."

Sasuke exhaled slowly, a breath of reluctance. "I know that, but…" He grimaced. "It feels wrong without Naruto."

Itachi sighed noiselessly, contemplating the floor. "If you're so miserable not being the boy's friend, why don't you rectify the situation?"

Sasuke scowled from over his shoulder. "You know why," He growled.

"They are dead now, Sasuke." He said flatly, his eyes narrowing when his brother stood up, turned, and glared fiercely at him.

"You really are **heartless**." Sasuke spat, furiously shoving past him to the kitchen. Itachi refused to yield, calmly following the other down the hallway.

The younger Uchiha didn't respond, but quickened his pace, jerking the refrigerator door open as he stepped onto the tiled floor. His hands emerged from the brightly lit whiteness holding a loaf of bread and a small packet of tuna.

Itachi made no comment as he watched Sasuke ferociously hack several pieces of bread from the loaf, waiting until the boy had finished slapping together – literally – his sandwich and sat down at the dining table.

Noiselessly, Itachi placed himself in a chair across and stared his deadpan stare. Sasuke ignored him blatantly, and chomped down the tuna.

"Please chew with your mouth closed," The elder finally intoned.

Sasuke colored slightly at the request, glaring once more. "I'm not a **child**!" He spat, once his mouthful of food had been consumed.

Itachi snorted lightly, his face still utterly void of emotion. "No?" He questioned, "Then I must applaud you for your remarkable performance." Sardonically, he clapped and easily dodged Sasuke's fist when the teen, predictably, leapt across the table.

A minute long scuffle ensued before the victor was made apparent.

Sasuke growled into the kitchen tile and squirmed, but his brother, sitting heavily on his back, scarcely let him move an inch.

"I must ask you to not be so messy."

"What?!"

Itachi nodded to the tuna sandwich, forgotten in Sasuke's attack and now lying freely across the floor. "Quite a waste." He commented mildly. "The tuna was particularly good this week."

Sasuke grumbled a half-hearted promise to not do it again. Next time he attacked someone, he'd be sure to carefully lay aside all food before lunging at them.

"Good, though you really should utilize your surroundings and materials better. Throwing the butter knife would've had more effect than jumping across a table to try and land a punch."

"_Yes_, Itachi." Sasuke gritted. "Will you _get off_ me now?"

"Such impatience," Itachi tutted, but complied, releasing Sasuke and rising gracefully. He watched as the other straightened himself and smoothed out the wrinkles that had appeared in his silky blue shirt. "Are you ready to talk civilly now?"

Sasuke stiffened, jerked his head in an abrupt refusal, and left for his room.

Still standing within the kitchen, the remains of a tuna sandwich nearby, Itachi pondered.

To be a good brother and leave his younger sibling in peace, or to be a good brother and help him resolve the problem.

The former would be preferred, but then he'd have to deal with a brooding fifteen-year-old sulking about the house for who knew how long. The latter would leave Sasuke irritated and angry at him, but, if all went well, the boy would be happier than he'd been in ages.

Itachi nodded to himself. His decision was clear.

Marching resolutely, he entered Sasuke's room.

Sasuke jerked in surprise at his entrance. "Itachi? I told you I _didn't want_ to _talk_!" The younger snarled.

Itachi smiled placidly and walked to the bed, where his brother sat.

"**Go** aw–"

One swift punch and he had himself an unconscious Sasuke.

Absentmindedly, Itachi poked his little brother's forehead.

"Now for the hard part," He mused. "Where does that pink-haired girl live …?"

_Dots and Dots and Dots and More_

Itachi knocked firmly on the slightly shabby apartment door. A faint grimace was scarcely visible on his features.

If nobody was there, then all this hassle would have been for nothing…and Itachi hated pointless activities.

A few seconds later, there was a reply.

"Coming, coming, be there in just a minute!"

The elder Uchiha nodded to himself, somewhat in relief, and stepped back from the doorway, the door of which swung open the moment it was clear.

For a full minute, Naruto just stared in open-mouthed astonishment.

Itachi, never one to break the ice, just returned the stare indifferently.

Finally though, the blonde teen swallowed uneasily and spoke, in a rather shaky voice. "I-Ita….Ita…chi…." His blue eyes darted nervously about the figure facing him before fixing themselves around the general area of the other's face. "Itachi, what….what are you doing here?" Suddenly, Naruto backed up a step. "A-and why are Sa….S-Sakura and Sa-Sasuke slung over your shoulders???"

Itachi spared a glance to his shoulders, where the two had indeed been slung.

"Because they are unconscious." He replied flatly.

A measure of panic entered Naruto's voice.

"And **why** are they unconscious?!" He yelped.

Itachi's blank stare gained an iota of menace. "They refused to come otherwise."

Naruto shivered at the sight. The man was creepy enough just by himself, but wearing red contact lenses, dressing in a long black cloak, and carrying two immobile bodies (one of which that just so happened to be his little brother's) made him downright _spine-chilling_.

"And why, exactly," He weakly queried. "Did the…em…**three** of you come here?"

Ignoring the question, Itachi gestured towards the room beyond Naruto and asked, "May we come in?"

A few more degrees of killer intent inserted into his gaze and Naruto silently waved in the Uchihas plus Haruno. The elder surveyed the small apartment quickly and quietly.

The place was rather small. He stood in what was obviously the living room, populated by a moderately-sized television, a brown sofa, a similarly colored armchair, and a well-used coffee table. To his right he could see a the kitchen/dining room, to his left he spotted a door that opened to a very green bathroom, and straight ahead lay a closed door that had to be Naruto's room.

"Um…I guess you can set Sasuke and Sakura down on the couch."

The blonde's voice drifted around from behind Itachi, who nodded, carefully slipping his human cargo off his shoulder and onto the couch. Satisfied that his brother and the girl would be comfortable, he turned to scrutinize the boy he hadn't seen in quite some time.

Naruto looked to be good. His clothes were slightly mussed, his hair looked as though it hadn't made contact with a brush in years, and there was a spot of some anonymous purple substance on his cheek, but overall, he looked alright, like a grown, matured version of the ten-year-old he had last seen.

Currently, the boy's face was caught between bewilderment and a reluctant compliance. "Do you want a cup of tea or something?" He asked quietly.

Itachi shook his head. "No, thank you." He paused. "Your scars healed very well."

Reflexively, a hand covered his cheek where the whisker-like scars lay. Any and all hints of friendliness quickly drained from Naruto. "**What** do you _want_, Itachi?" Venom dripped from his words.

Itachi shrugged and nodded to prone forms on the couch.

"Sakura-san and my brother miss you." He said plainly.

Naruto blinked. "…huh?"

Itachi rolled his red eyes. Kids were so stupid sometimes… "They **miss** you." He repeated.

Naruto stared, alternating from the younger to the older Uchiha every few seconds. "Sakura I could maybe believe, but we are talking about the same Sasuke, right? Duckbutt hair, pissy attitude, about 6'?"

Itachi reflected idly that it was a very good thing he had learned to control his temper so long ago; otherwise Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, his boss…and quite a few other exasperating persons would be missing a limb or two by now.

"He misses being friends with you and Sakura-san. Do you feel the same?"

The blonde crossed his arms defensively and scowled. "Why should **I** miss _them_?" He sneered. "_They're_ the ones that abandoned **me **five _years_ ago and haven't talked to me since!"

Itachi slid an eye to glance at the two. "Though I can't speak for Sakura-san, I can tell you that it was entirely against Sasuke's will to separate from you."

Naruto was silent.

"But," Itachi granted, "This is not my argument to defend."

He nodded to the boy, and then left without a word.

His part in this was done.

_Dots and Dots and Yet More Dots_

Sakura had been quite shocked to hear that there was an Uchiha awaiting her in the dining room. When she saw that it was **Itachi **sitting at the table, the amount of shock doubled.

"Uchiha-san?" She questioned numbly, at a complete loss as to why the elder brother of one of her once-upon-a-time friends was doing at her house.

The man looked up at her, amusement barely visible on his face. "As I recall, you had a part in dying my hair orange before tying it into a topknot with glue. I believe such a thing allows you to call me by name."

Sakura flushed at the recollection. "Sorry for that, Itachi-san." She apologized, bowing slightly.

Itachi shrugged and sipped at the tea he held.

The pink-haired girl stood to the side of the impromptu guest, awkwardly, folding her hands in front of her. "Um…Itachi-san…"

"Were you happy being friends with my brother and Naruto?"

Sakura inhaled sharply at the question. Had she been happy with…what? "Itachi-san, I do not understand what you're asking."

"Do you miss them?"

"Why…_why _are you asking me this?" She murmured, barely audible. She could feel the pretty nails she had spent so long perfecting digging into her skin and she welcomed the unpleasant tinge.

"Curiosity. Please, answer." Itachi replied calmly, noting the level of distress the girl was in. A good reaction.

It took three full and quiet minutes before Sakura responded.

She gave a small smile, her gaze on the floor. "Yes, I miss them."

Itachi nearly grinned. "Good." Standing, he gently set down the tea.

"**Good**?" Sakura echoed. "What do you mean?"

"Would you like to be friends with them again?" Itachi asked, checking discretely for any sign of the Haruno parents. Nowhere in sight. Excellent.

Sakura's green eyes were wide with confusion and worry. "Itachi-san, I can't! My parents, they would never allow it!"

"You're fifteen. Isn't this the age you're meant to start rebelling?" Itachi said, sarcasm barely noticeable.

"But–"

And Itachi's eyes, rolling in exasperation, were the last thing Sakura saw before she opened her own to a ceiling.

Her room's ceiling was pink. Seeing as this one's was a rather attractive shade of steel blue, it was quite obvious she wasn't in her room. Or anywhere in her house.

Sakura frowned. Where in the **_hell _**had Itachi taken her?

She sat up quickly, panicking…then fell back again when she found a sleeping Sasuke on the other side of the couch. "Sasuke-kun?!" She squeaked.

Predictably, he didn't stir. Sakura poked his shin, just to be sure.

Well, it certainly looked like Sasuke-kun…and she could see his chest moving, so he wasn't dead, at least.

"You're awake?"

Sakura jumped at the voice and spun around. "_Naruto_?" She gasped.

Naruto smiled crookedly and waved. "Hiya, Sakura-chan."

She smiled back a smile equally as crooked. "Hello, Naruto." Gaze sweeping over the room quickly, she asked, "Is this your place?"

The blonde nodded an affirmation.

"And…how did I get here?"

Naruto coughed out a laugh. "Itachi dropped you and Sasuke off here about twenty minutes ago."

Sakura scowled. "That jerk planned this…"

Naruto carefully made sure that the hurt Sakura's words invoked didn't show. "Yeah…"

Sakura's face fell. "Oh, Naruto I didn't mean it like that!" She protested. "I would've come on my own, gladly, but Itachi didn't give me any time to think!"

Naruto's eyebrows raised.

"Seriously! He just came to my house, asked me if I wanted to be friends with you and Sasuke again, and didn't let me really think before he knocked me out!" Sakura gasped suddenly. "Oh! My parents! They don't know where I am!"

"He probably told them you were at our house." Sasuke monotoned.

The two blinked and turned to the boy. "When'd **you** wake up?" Naruto asked, surprised. Last he'd looked, the other had been fast asleep.

Sasuke shrugged. "Just a minute ago. Sakura got loud."

Said girl pouted and swatted at him. "Don't be rude."

He smirked and shrugged. "Like I said, Itachi probably told your parents you were going to my house. I doubt they would've said no to the _'prestigious __**Uchiha **__**Itachi**__'_." His mocking tone brought a grin to both Naruto and Sakura's lips.

But after that, the three found they had nothing to say, and sat, or stood, in a painfully sharp hush.

They couldn't meet each other's eyes, all choosing instead to stare at some random object in the room.

Until Sakura huffed, irritated. Neither of the other two were going to say anything, she knew their stubbornness and pride would never let them be the first to cave.

"Stupid boys," The pink-haired girl growled. "Naruto, will you be friends with Sasuke and me again?" She pleaded, fiddling with the end of her skirt nervously. "Please?"

Naruto didn't say anything, keeping his eyes on the wall.

Sakura elbowed Sasuke.

"Hey!"

Flashing a dark look at him, Sakura sent out an inward command of _SAY SOMETHING_ or _DIE_.

Sasuke shifted away from the startlingly vicious girl and sighed. "Please, Naruto?" He whispered.

Naruto swallowed and turned away from them. "Why…" He coughed and started again. "Why did you guys abandon me?"

Any hopeful urges within the two died and they looked to each other, regretful.

Sakura ran a hand through her short locks and breathed out slowly. "Naruto, when my parents found out what your guardian, Kyuubi, had done…they were _horrified_. They couldn't believe I had been playing with a child under the care of a psychotic murderer…they thought the worst."

"My parents were the same." Sasuke added, watching the back of Naruto head as it slumped. "They thought that you would be just like him."

"They paid no attention to reason," Sakura continued. "They completely dismissed the six years they'd known you, forgot every time they'd ever seen the sweet little boy you were, and named you a demon child."

Sasuke glared as he recalled his parents angered, accusing face from five years ago. "They ordered me to completely cut off contact from you. No precious son of the Uchiha would associate with demons, they said. They tried to make me throw everything out, all the pictures, all the games, all the toys…everything. But Itachi stepped in, for some reason, and persuaded my parents to let me keep it all." Sasuke gave a lopsided grin to the back of Naruto's black shirt. "I think he was fond of you."

"My parents **did** throw away everything. I salvaged what I could from the trash." Sakura sighed. "I guess they thought I was too girly to go rooting through the garbage. Yet I did, and I hid the box of what I could get in the basement. That was all though. After you got out of the hospital…" She snuck at glance at the edge of Naruto's cheek. "…I wanted to talk to you so badly at school, but as soon as I looked at you, the teacher glared at me and sent a note to my parents. I got grounded for a month."

"And you disappeared for three years before you'd been back in school a week. When you got back…my parents had been dead six months already. I hated _everyone_, I hated _everything_, I just plain **hated**. It took me a year more after that to finally get somewhat back to normal."

"By that time, you looked as if you had completely forgotten about me. And Sasuke was just so different. He was so cool now, so unapproachable and you, you had new friends, you were in trouble all the time…I…I didn't know how to talk to you, and even if I did, my parents still hold their ridiculous loathing of you. It's so stupid…"

"But then…your essay…" Sasuke paused.

Sakura blinked back tears as her voice wavered horribly. "I had forgotten how close we'd been, how wonderful it had been…Before you read your essay, I thought I was okay, I thought I had good friends, and I do, they're so good, but, Naruto," Full out sobbing now, Sakura took in a shuddering breath. "You and Sasuke were my **best **friends."

"I've never been good at making friends, and I know I'll never make any friends as great as you two ever again." Sasuke whispered. "I could tell you two anything and you'd accept it. You kept all my secrets and I kept all of yours. Naruto was always there to punch me in the head when I let my status go to my head and pull Sakura along when she was afraid, and Sakura was always there to help me when I had to cry and when Naruto was being stupid and…and…"

Sasuke broke off and buried his face in his hand, breathing quickly and shallowly to try and stop himself from blubbering like a little baby. Damnit damnit _damnit_ _**damnit!**_ He hadn't cried since his parent's funeral, he couldn't now…it was too goddamn weak.

Sakura didn't bother to try and stop, but hung her head, letting her hair hide her from view.

When arms suddenly wrapped around them both, they froze.

Sakura peered through her bangs. "N-Naruto?" She hiccupped.

"Man, you two really are a _wreck_ without me." The boy croaked, his voice suspiciously hoarse.

Sasuke grunted, offended but gave no other reply.

"But, since I'd probably have a creepy bastard of an older brother and two outraged parents after my ass if I left you like this, I guess I'm **stuck** with ya."

And, with no warning, Naruto was promptly tackled to the floor by an irate blur of pink.

"Stuck? You call being friends with us _**stuck**_?" Sakura shrieked, her fingers wrapped tightly around Naruto's neck. "Oh you _stupid_, stupid **boy**!"

Sasuke watched the sight, a bit astonished. Then, he began to chuckle. Before long, he was laughing uncontrollably and Sakura joined in, her tired giggles harmonizing with Sasuke's throaty snickers.

Naruto watched them both and smiled.

Yeah, he certainly didn't mind being stuck with these two.

Within minutes, stress took its toll and left all three fast asleep.

_Dots and Dots and So Many Dots_

Itachi strolled up to Naruto's apartment at around midnight, five hours after he had dumped off Sasuke and Sakura. His countenance was grim.

It was completely silent within and that could mean several things. First, it could mean that the three had completely lost it and killed each other. Second, it could mean that Naruto had refused to renew their ties of friendship and kicked them out as soon as they awoke, leaving them to find their own ways home. Or third, it could mean that they made up and were now playing some ridiculous game. The third possibility was unlikely. They were grown now, yes, but the three's games had always been quite noisy.

Steeling himself for whatever he might find inside, Itachi walked inside.

And promptly gave a snort of relief and bemusement.

_Or _fourth, the silence could mean that they made up and fell asleep all over each other.

He eyed their sprawled positions, vastly amused. Naruto was lying face up on the floor, his arm being held tightly by Sakura, who slept curled around his left side, while Sasuke used the blonde's belly as a pillow, one hand thrown outward, and now somehow tangled in Sakura's hair.

All three were snoring. Naruto, loud and obnoxiously; Sakura, soft and nasally; and Sasuke, quiet and thickly.

"Such children," He muttered and went off to search for blankets. Wouldn't want them to catch cold right on the eve of their reunion. That would create something of a sour note.

Draping two blankets on Sasuke and Sakura, and another on Naruto's legs, Itachi nodded to himself.

Had he been anyone but himself, he would've been whistling, but, being that he was _the_ **Uchiha Itachi**, he merely left with a broad, far-too-smug smirk fixed upon his face.

It was _very _pleasing when things went exactly as he planned.

_Dots and Dots and Zomg Dots_

When the three awoke the next morning, refreshed, and even further entangled than they had been last night, Naruto grimaced.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked, carefully working his right hand out of Sakura's hair.

"Well, other than the fact that you drooled on my stomach?"

The pale-skinned boy colored quickly. "Shut **up**!"

Sakura snickered, but hushed instantly as Sasuke gave a not-so-gentle tug on his hand. "_Careful!_" She griped.

Naruto sighed.

"What is it, Naruto?" Sakura gritted out.

"It took your creepy bastard of a brother to get us back together." He grunted, staring at Sasuke accusingly.

Sasuke blinked, then shrugged.

Sakura also blinked. "You know," She said, slowly. The boys looked to her. "That leaves us in his debt."

Naruto and Sasuke shot her twin looks of horror.

"**Never** mention it to him!" Sasuke hissed.

"I don't even want to _imagine _what kind of creepy things the creepy bastard would make us do!" Naruto groaned.

The lone female of the trio agreed hastily. While she was grateful to the elder Uchiha…they were right. It was not a good thing to be in the debt of someone so…well, simply put, _creepy_.

"Anyways…" Naruto cleared his throat. "Anyone want breakfast?"

Shortly after, they all sat at Naruto's small table, eating a healthy amount of unhealthy cereal.

Shortly after that, Naruto and Sasuke began to squabble and ended up wrestling around in the living room. Sakura joined the fray after setting the last of the newly-washed dishes to dry and, surprisingly, kicked both their asses.

Not so shortly after that, the trio made plans to introduce each other to their respective groups. Sakura promised she would try to reign in Ino for Sasuke, tried to come up with ideas to get the overly-shy Hinata to socialize, and ways to convince Tenten into leaving some of her weapons behind. Naruto swore he would work on managing Gaara's murderous aura, Kiba's dog and doggy smell, Shikamaru's laziness, and Chouji's inability to stop eating, while Sasuke agreed to attempt to curb Lee's overabundance of energy, Neji's unending talk of destiny, and Shino's disturbing fascination with bugs.

Long after that, they went to school together and had a sleepover at Sasuke's. Itachi was tormented, the trio got their exercise in evading the elder's killing attempts, ancient games were revived, and so on and so forth.

Ever after, Sasuke and Sakura could be seen wearing a moon and star necklace, Naruto trailing behind, grinning the whole way.

Till death, no matter what anyone said.

_**THE ENDE**_

**Authoress's Note**

Well, certainly took me long enough to get off my ass and do this, eh? I'm really, really sorry it took such a very, very long time, for those of you that were looking and waiting for a continuation.

But, I hope the length of this somewhat makes up it. _Over 4,300 words_. Good gawd! Now, I know that may not sound like much to some of you, but for me to write this much is TOTALLY amazing! I was worried it wouldn't meet the previous chapter's 2500 words! Geesh!

By the by, you all owe this to the reviewers of Kyuuu. I reread some of those reviews and tried making up a bit of an epilogue for it (it might be forthcoming, those who want it!), but it didn't have the proper mood, so I came back to the thousand words I had of this and tried it out. Shockingly, it worked!

Oh, and what's that you ask? Oh, why yes! Yes, I **am** taking enormous liberties with this fic! So glad you noticed!…well actually, **I** was the one who noticed…as I was writing this…

**Self: **…when the hell did I start writing Itachi as the main character of this chappie? And why is he so nice and brotherly? And what happened to BroodingAvenger!Sasuke?! And what the crap is with this EmoBoy!Sasuke?! GAAAAH! WHERE DID I GO WROOOOOONG?!

And THEN I noticed I was favoring Sasuke AGAIN (stupid stupid Kelly!) so I had to go and insert a lot more Sakuraness everywhere to try and equalize it out. I think I managed that, buuuuut…I'm not so sure. Sorry if it didn't quite work out!

And I was trying to keep a little sense of vagueness about it, while explaining a lot. It was quite hard to do and, once again, apologies to those that remain confused! Anyhow: If you're reading this, and if you somehow happen to like it, thank you so, so very unbelievably much. And, if you're reviewing, double that! And if you've reviewing and you've reviewed something of mine before, triple it!


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